Arizona Wild Bird Photos
IN NO WHERE DESERT ARIZONA
Recap for the year 2002
I believe it all started about mid April 2002 in "No Where Desert Arizona", No birds, No animals, No water, very little if any food for wild life.
Good news travels fast in the dry hot desert, how, well, I really don't know. However, to prove it, in about 3 weeks give or take a week the food and water I had put out started to disappear.
First came the Harries Antelope Squirrels. One or two at first and then they brought their cousins by the dozens. I don't know how the birds found the seed. Perhaps they were looking under the bushes for seed and just happened across mine and then some how communicated to other about it. I can only guess that the big Black Tailed Jacks roam over such a large area of the desert that sooner or later they were bound to find the food too.
Over coming my inability to keep enough water on the site from one week to the next by installing two fifty five gallon drums and connecting them to an automatic water pan. Also through trial and error I have built a seed holder that will hold seed from one week to the next, maybe.
So, since last April I have put out some 1500 pounds of various types of wild bird seeds. 200 pounds of Rabbit pellets. 10 Quail blocks. To date about 1000+ gallons of water. Not to mention about 200 oranges.
I have survived the 115 degree+ days, the 0 percent humidity. Then came the rains and the flooded roads/ruts/washes. Several tires thanks to Challah cactus I did not see. A new rack & pinion from driving on the washboard roads back and forth every week and some times twice a week. Out and back (round trip that is) it's about 200 miles. So, if I only went out there once a week that's 4 trips a month, 800 miles a month times 10 months is 8,000 miles. My how those miles do add up. It no wonder my car hates me. Every thing under my car that's dentable has a dent in it.
I did however find 4 light truck tires that are 6 ply. They seem to be holding up much better than the regular passenger car tires I had on. They do however seem to be cactus proof. I don't run over any cactuses but, they do drop their arms and that's what I hit. They also handle the sharp pointed rocks much better.
So, as today what have we seen?
Black-throated Sparrows, to many to count.
Harris Antelope squirrels.
Red-tailed Hawks.
Turkey Vultures.
Gambles Quails at least a 100.
Several Hummers, more than likely Anna's.
Curve-billed Thrashers.
Scott's Orioles.
Bullocks Orioles.
Gila woodpeckers.
Flickers.
Lazuli Buntings.
White-crowned sparrows.
Yellow rumped warblers.
Townsend warblers.
Shrikes.
Roadrunners.
Black-tailed Jack rabbits.
Western wiptail lizards.
Prairie Falcon.
Sage sparrows.
Verdins.
Cowbirds.
Phainopeplas.
I was out there on Jan. one 2003. The sparrows over ran the site. More than likely 50 to 100 birds at one time were trying to their share of the seeds I had put out. The Gila woodpeckers were taking good care of the oranges. The squirrels must be in hybridization. Their numbers have dwindled from dozens to one or 2 every now and then.
It will truly be most interesting to see what happens in 2003.
I have put a lot of good old hard elbow grease and much back aches, hopefully I can attack more wild life in 2003.
In the beginning
The new area is where the 2 X's are in this photo.
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Jan. 01/03
If you aren't bored by now, I will keep these postings going on for maybe another year or until I decide to close the desert site down.
No promises.